Illinois Supreme Court Declines to Hear Direct Appeal of Madison County "Lights" Class-Action Verdict

The Illinois Supreme Court today declined to accept a direct appeal of the $10.1 billion verdict against Philip Morris USA handed down in March by a Madison County Circuit Court in the Price class-action “lights” lawsuit.

Philip Morris USA had asked the state’s highest court to take the unusual step of accepting a direct appeal of the case, in effect bypassing the state’s intermediate appellate court, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District.

“Philip Morris USA will now proceed to the intermediate court and present our very compelling arguments why this verdict should be reversed and the class should be decertified,” said William S. Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris USA vice president and associate general counsel.

“The trial court recognized that this case presents important legal issues. We continue to believe that this case should not have been certified as a class action, and we believe the essential allegations in the case should be governed entirely by federal law setting forth requirements for cigarette labeling.”

Ohlemeyer noted that the trial court disagreed with the company on those key issues, and the appellate court will have an opportunity to take a fresh look at those and other issues.

On March 21, Madison County Judge Nicholas Byron ordered the company to pay $7.1 billion to an estimated 1.1 million smokers whom the court found to have been misled about the health risks of Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights cigarettes based upon the proofs of just two class representatives. From that amount, he awarded plaintiffs’ attorneys $1.77 billion in fees.

Judge Byron also awarded punitive damages of $3 billion to be paid to the state.

In order for Philip Morris USA to stay enforcement of the judgment pending appeal, the company has posted a bond secured by a pre-existing $6 billion note owed to Philip Morris USA. It also must deposit the annual $420 million in interest that note generates plus an additional $800 million in cash in an escrow account with the Clerk of the Court.

Last month, appellate courts in Florida and Massachusetts issued rulings decertifying class actions in the Engle and Aspinall cases. The Engle case, which produced a $145 billion judgment, was a class action comprised of Florida smokers who have contracted lung cancer and other diseases. Like Price, the Aspinall case, was comprised of smokers who purchased Marlboro “light” cigarettes and sought a refund for all the cigarettes they bought.

Philip Morris USA is challenging one other Lights class certification, in the Hines case in Florida, before a state appellate court.

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